Farmers Aren’t Worried About The Farm Bill

This week the House Agriculture Committee released their version of the Farm Bill, but with all of the trade issues, some farmers say it’s not something they are worried about right now.

Earlier this week AgriTalk host Chip Flory asked members of the farmer forum where the Farm Bill ranks on a priority scale of 1-10. Here’s what they said:

Steve Pitstick, Illinois: “I would say two or three. It's just not a big deal anymore. In the past the ARC (Agriculture Risk Coverage) payments have been good to us, how that transfers with the lower prices that we’re at, we’ll see, but it’s just not a big deal like it used to be.”

Darrin Ihnen, South Dakota: “I would agree with Steve probably that two or three. You know, like he said, other than crop insurance, the Farm Bill doesn't seem like it's on the radar like it was. And if we can protect crop insurance, I think that's a big thing for us growers in the Northern Corn Belt, just to try to help with our weather variability.”

Casey Schuhmacher, Nebraska: “I'm about the same as the other guys. The thing I've been watching the closest is where they've been on CRP. Out here, living in the fringe acres of the fringe acres, with dry land wheat and other stuff like that, CRP played a big deal in the past. In droughts it's a savior, they let us come in and hay it. Most of the CRP contracts around here are expiring in the next two years, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.”